Railway-switch



(No Model.) 0 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. B. SUFFERN.

RAILWAY SWITCH. I No. 400,370. Patentedv Mar. 26, 1889..

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.. Y

J. B.-SUFFBRN.

RAILWAY SWITOH. No. 400,370. Patented Mar. 26, 1889.

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UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES B. SUFFERN, OFl-IILLBURN, NEW YORK.

RAILWAY-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 400,370, dated March 26, 1889.

Application filed October 4, 1888. Serial No. 287,189. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES B. SUFFERN, of Hillburn, in the county of Rockland and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Railway-Switches, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming a part thereof, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved railway-switch, showing the switch set to run the cars onto the siding. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the switch arranged to complete the main track. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on line y y in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on line X X in Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

The object of my invention is to construct a railway-switch by which the train may always be kept upon the main track whether the switch is set for the same or not.

My invention consists in the combination, with the switch-rails and a spring switch-stand, of two track-levers, a slide upon the switch-opcrating bar, and a system of levers for moving and locking the slide, one of the track-levers being connected with the slide moving and locking levers, and the other track-lever arranged to move the switch-operating bar, all as hereinafter more fully described.

The track A is constructed in the usual way, with the main rail (1, running past the switch B, the rail 1) extending to the switch and connected directly with the side-track rail 0, and the pivoted switch-rails O G placed between the rails a c, the switch-rails being connected in the usual way by cross-bars d, their free extremities being tapered and fitted for close contact with the rails a c. A bar, D, is connected with the rails O O and with the shaft of the spring-switch stand E by the connecting-rod e. The mechanism thus far described is common and well known, and therefore needs no further description.

To the under side of the bar D, between the rail a and switch-stand E, is pivoted a right-angled lever, F, and to the side of the said bar D is pivoted a hand-lever, G, provided with a fork, f, near the pivoted end thereof, for receiving the connecting-bar g, pivoted on a bolt, h, extending through the said fork. The opposite end of the bar 9 is pivoted in a forkyi, which is provided with a shank extending through the right-angled lever F and arranged to turn therein.

Upon the bar D is placed a slide, H, with which is pivotally connected one end of the curved bar j, the opposite end of which is pivoted to that end of the lever F which carries the fork i. To the opposite end of the rightangled lever F is connected a rod, I, which extends to the angled lever k, pivoted to a fixed support and located at a suitable distance from the switch. The lever 70 is pro vided with a shoulder, Z, which is engaged by .a spring, 'm, as the lever is turned in one direction or the other, the spring serving to hold the lever 70 in either of its two positions.

To one of the ties near the lever k is pivoted atrack-lever, J, the opposite end of which is connected with the remaining arm of the angled lever k by therod n, and to one of the railway-ties near the switch is pivoted one end of a curved track-lever, K, theopposite end of which extends over the top of the bar D in position to engage the slide H. The track-lever K is located near the rail a, and opposite the convex part of the track-lever K,

near the rail 1), is arranged a guard-rail, 0.

The operation of my improved railwayswitch is as follows: The switchbeing set, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to divert the train from the main track to the side track, the handlever G is thrown down, so as to bring the said lever and the bar g in the same horizontal line, thereby bringing the slide H against the lever K and looking it in that position. The train, on approaching the switch upon the main-track rails a 1), passes the track-lever J without producing any effect. When the flanges of the wheels roll between the track-rail a and the track-lever K, the tracklevcr K is swung away from the track-rail a, and by engaging the slide H, which is locked by the hand-lever G in the manner already described, the lateral movement of the tracklever K moves the bar D in the direction required to open the switch, thereby turning the shaft of the switch-stand E, and when the said shaft has turned through a little more than half of the distance required to shift the switch the spring of the said switch-stand completes the operation and carries the switch-rails O 0 toward the track-rails 0, thereby completing the main track, so that the train passes over the rails a b and the switch-rail C. \Vhen the hand-lever G is raised, it is locked in an elevated position by the bar g, and the slide H is thereby moved back out of the path of the track-lever K, so that the switch-rails O C may be set in any position without regard to the said track-lever or hand-lever. If, when the slide H and hand-lever G are in the position described, and shown in Fig. 1, the switch is set so as to divert the train to the side track, and it is desired to keep 'the main track, (the lever G having been raised to the position shown in Fig. 4,) and the train is approaching the switch upon the rails a b, the flanges of the wheels will engage the track-lever J, turning the a11- gled lever is, and through the medium of the rod I, turning the lever F, thereby tripping the hand-lever G, moving the slide H into contact with the track-lever K, and looking it by virtue of bringing the lever G and bar 9 into the same horizontal line, so that when the wheels engage the track-lever K they will move the bar D and operate the switch in the manner previously described, thereby causing the train to keep the main track.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to securebyLetters Patent 1. The combination, with the switch-operating bar, of a slide placed on the bar, a looking device for holding the slide in a fixed position 011 the bar, and a track-lever arranged in proximity to one of the track-rails and adapted to engage the slide on the switchoperating bar, substantially as specified.

2. In a railway-switch, the combination, with the switch-operating bar and slide H, carried thereby, of the hand-lever G, bar g, and the connecting-rod j, for locking the said slide, substantially as specified.

3. In an automatic railway-switch, the combination, with the switch-bar D, of the angled lever F, the hand-lever G, the bar g, connecting-rod j, the slide H, and the track-lever K, substantially as specified.

JAMES B. SUFFERN.

Witnesses:

STEPHEN L. Wool), DENNIS M. NooNAN. 

